Refillable fuse-cartridge.



G. W AIP'LER. RBPILLABLE FUSE CARTRIDGE.

n APPLICATION FILED OCTY 5, 1912-. 1,052,202.

Patented F6114, 191s.

@5% HozZnew UNITED sTATEs PATENT oFFIoE.

GRAFTON W. APPLER, F LYONS, NEW YORK.

REFILLABLE FUSE-CARTRIDGE.

To all whom ituiitayconcern:

i 'Be it known that LIGRAFTON rrnnn,

of Lyons, inthe county of Wayne, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Refillable Fuse- -Cartridges,of. which the following, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, is a full, clear and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improve-A ments in refillable cartridge fuses involving the use` of a tubular-shell or cylinder of vulcanized fiber or other insulating mate- "rial having opposite end ferr-Liles permanently secured thereto and provided with relatively narrowl integral cross bars having suitable attaching means `for the opposite ends of a fuse which is passed through the insulator tube, in combinaton with contact caps adjustably screwing upon the ferrules for closing the ends of the tube and pro! tecting theattaching means for the fuse and also constituting electrical contacts for engaging the'usual terminals and thereby connecting the fuse inthe circuit.

I am aware that refillable cartridges are not-broadly new, some of which employ a special form of fuse with fastening-devices 4peculiar to the construction of the fuse, 1n which case, it is always necessary to carry a'large supply of various sizes of fuse according to the size of the cartridge and current which the fuse is adapted to carry so that the extra expense of these .special forms of fuse negatives the advantages of a rellable cartridge and renders their use in large quantities practically prohibitive for the reason that it would be more economical to use the ordinary non-refillable cart-ridges and throw away the entire cartridge when the fuse is burned out. On the other hand, so far as I have been able to find in the re-V illable catridges, employing stock fuse wires, it ispractically imposslble to thread the wire through the cartrid e and connect it at its ends Without consi erable trouble and more or less uncertainty that a proper connection has been made.

The main object, therefore, of my pres- `ent invention is not only to provide a simi Specification of Letters Patent.

replaced on the ends of the ferrules to en' tirely conceal the fastening means and protect the same against injury or contact with external objects and at the same time the adjustability of the caps at the ends. of the cartridges by screwing or unscrewing enables the length of the cartridge to be extended or reduced within a limited range.

Another object is to establish a firm and permanent lock between the ferrules and ends of the insulator tubes and to utilize a portion of the cross-bars of the ferrules for this purpose by depressing the sides of the same within suitable recesses or slots in the adjacent endsof the tube. A

Another object is to enable the same cartridge to be used for the reception of either Wire or flat strip fuses.

Other objects and uses will be brought out in the following description.

In the drawings-Figure l is al central longitudinal sectional view of a reillable fuse cartridge embodying various features of my invent-ion. Figs. 2 and 3 are transverse sectional views taken -on lines 2 3, Fig. 1, showing wire fuse in Fig. 2 and a flat strip fuse in Fig. 3. Figs.4, 5, and 6 are perspective views respectively of one of the end contact caps, the adjacent ferrule and the adjacent end of the insulator tube. Fig. 7 is a central longitudinal sectional view of one end of, a slight-ly modiiied form of fuse cartridge showing the cap as provided with a knife Contact. Fig. 8 is a perspective .view of a slightly modied form of ferrule divided diametrically to distinguish from the continuous cylindrical `form shown in Fig. 5.

In carrying out the objects stated, I pro- Patented Feb. 4', 1913.l Application filed October 5, 1912. Serial No. 724,150.

vide a tubular (preferably cylindrical) shell i lof vulcanized fiber or other suitable insulating material which may be of any desired diameter or length according to the nature of the current adapted to be carried by the fuse, said tube having its opposite ends open and each end provided with diaj the ferrule ,has beennar tube-L41:- ar the :einer the Ami;

-wardly Icrimpedl annular shoulder 5-, the latter being' compressed' or' contractedv after-f' placed upon the tube`f.

' ce'ntfcross bar to the inner ends of the -slots-aor-recesses -2'- so as to extend be yiiiidizhe ends ofthe crossl bars which are lat''their-junctions `-with the main bodies of metrid'lmpposite slotso l n tending'inwardlyfrom't thickness .to pmm't th. .imain body; thereof -w .be Madea-,externally for .the .reception of separate trnally threadedcontact v'C ps base of cach. 'off cient size .or diametergtojtsnuglympon the. periphery of the adjacent fend.. oitlie .insu-y jacent slots or recessesfposf tion it is held against' rotationbyian 1n so as to embed itself s ightly .in ysaid prevent withdrawal of the ferule there-ff from as well as .to partially lock'theferrule' Aand tube against relative position, .Asian additionall means :for` preventing the relative rotation of each ferrule upon the'tube, the

-outer lend of such ferrule is providedwth a relatively ynarrow*U-shape cross bar having its ends integral with diametrclly .opposite sides ofthe main body or cylinf" drical portion ofthe ferrule and compressed inwardly toward eachother within the ex.`

' ternal diameter of such main body so as. to'.

enter the slots .o r recesses F-2--v as shown" more clearly in -F1g.,l and thereby effectively .locking the tube and'ferrules against relative rotation, it understmd thatl the 'slots --2- and cross bar 6'- are of substantially the saine circumferential widthl so that the cross barsfmay closely it': -n their respective r- As previouslyk intimated, the bars 6- areof""consid erably less width than the main .bodies of their respective ferrules and also of .considerably less width than the v interior diameter of the Vtube *1 -.so as to leave relatively large spaces between g opposite lsides of the bars and corresponding sides of the tube through which the ends of at 'substantially right *angles to the axes of the tube and are provided with separate sets4 of openings, as -8- and forl'the reception of suitable fastening members, as screws, --10` or -11-, by

means of which the ends of the fusible link may be screwed to and against the out er face strips,

of theintermediate' portions of the bar {5o-'establish a perfect electrical connection between the ferrules and link. These ferrules may be. stamped or pressed from a flat sheet of metal blank so as to be continuous circumferentially as 'shown in Figs. 1,- 2, 3,5 and 6, or may be divided diametrically, as shown Fig. 8, but in either case,

"the length of the cross bar -6- is less than the external diameter of the cylindrical l l l ."portion'in which the external threads are the ferrulessfcylindrical andof just sulli-r' fom edy'thereby allowing the axially extend* .inggends' of the cross bars to enter the recess in' the adjacent ends of the kinsulator tube 'The'. c'rrtaetcaps -4-, preferably, coninstof metal cups, open at one end and their Vopposite ends closed,the length f.

-.,each cap being somewhat greater than e'distanceffrom the outer face ofthe adjaferrule, the interior diameter of such caps -being substantially equal to the exter- "nal' diameter of the threaded portion of said 'ferrule .The inner open ends of each cap is threaded internally and screwed upon the .-externally threaded portion of' the fel-rule,

thereby permitting saidjca to be adjusted longitudinally or axially o `the tube by rotation in one direction. or the other according .towhetheiit is rdesired to extend or shorten the length, of the cartridge. When the cap's -4-' areplaced in operative position or `secured upon the threaded portions of their respective 'ferrules --3- ,4 their outer closed ends eiectivelyA conceal and protect the attached members, as the screws -1() or -1'1-, a ainst contact with externa-l objects 'and a' o alfords and imparts 'to the cartridge in general a smooth and characteristic ap arance and enables theC cartridge, as a w cle, to be readily inserted `into and withdrawn from the .terminals of 151e fusible link '7- may be made either Qf del! wire, as shown in Figs, 1 and 2, or as shown in Figs. 3 and 7.

nthe fuse wire is used, its ends are fastened in lace to the central apertures of the cross arsb the screws 10-; but when the flat stoc strips are used, their ends are fastened in place by screws-1land a clam plate '-11- as lshown more clearly in. lgs. 3 and 7. f In some instances, it may be necessary to provide the caps -4- with knife contacts -4- as shown in Fig. 7, in which case, the caps -4V are preferably locked against rotation to their adjacent ferrules-3 by tain the lmifecontacts *4C-1n the same plane.

The operation of my invention will now be readily understood upon reference to the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings and it will be evident that the Contact caps may be provided with other forms of contacts than that shown in Figs. 1 and 7 and that other slight changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from'the spirit of this invention.

What I claim is: i

l. In a'refillable fuseA cartridge, an insulator tube open at both ends, metal ferrules secured to said ends, against rotation thereon, and each provided with a relatively narrow cross bar united to diametrically opposite sides thereof across the adjacent open end of ,the tube a fusible link within the tube and having its ends passed through the spaces between the bar and tube and attached to the outer faces of the bars, and contact caps. covering the cross bars and open ends of the tube and adjustably secured to the adjacent errules.

2. A refillable fuse cartridge comprising a tubular shell of insulating material open at both ends, metal ferrules ti htly secured to the opposite ends of the she against rotation and provided with cross bars extending across the -open ends of the shell and integrally united to opposite sides of the main bodies of the respective nipples, said cross bars being of less width than the interior diameter of the shell to provide open spaces between opposite edges of the cross 1 ends and of considerably less width than the interior diameter of the shell, a fuse member within the shell, separate clamping devices on the cross bars for clamping the ends of the fuse member thereto and contact caps covering the cross bars and screwed upon the adjacent ferrules.v

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 3d day of September, 1912.

GRAFTON W. APPLER.

, Witnesses:

E. CHASE, EVA E. GREENLEAF.

copies of this patent may 'be obtained for ve oents each, b`y addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0J 

